North Dakota’s largest paper endorsed Kevin Cramer today, citing his accessibility and political views that align with North Dakota.

In their endorsement, the Forum Editorial blasted Heitkamp for her opposition to Justice Kavanaugh and her campaign for outing sexual assault victims without their consent.

In the fallout of this horrible mistake, Heitkamp promised accountability and transparency, but as Rob Port and National Review’s Alexandra DeSanctis note in the stories below, she’s far from delivered.

His [Cramer’s] conservative views are in sync with North Dakota voters, who appreciate his candor, and we support him in his bid to move from the U.S. House to the U.S. Senate.

Cramer doesn’t flinch when advocating policies he favors, or in speaking against policies he opposes. He is not one of those politicians who keep a moistened finger in the wind. He’s always been one of North Dakota’s most accessible politicians.

Heidi Heitkamp, who now holds the office, is a likable and able politician, but her views don’t align as well with those of North Dakota voters.

We’re worried that, if elected to what appears to be her last term, she would vote with her fellow Democrats to block or unravel progress that has been made. Specifically, we cite her vote against Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.

We’re also troubled that Heitkamp has said she didn’t approve the ad that named — in some cases erroneously — women as sexual abuse victims.

We’re left wondering if she was more interested in making political points than advancing women’s rights.

So far the only action we’ve seen from Heitkamp and her campaign is the firing of a staffer whose identity they’re not releasing to the public. Which means this unnamed staffer is being afforded more protection for his or her identity than the victims of Heitkamp’s ad were.

Now that this firing has happened Heitkamp and her staff are back on the campaign trail with renewed attacks on her opponent, Rep. Kevin Cramer, as if they’re hoping the news cycle will turn over and this ugly episode will be behind them. That’s not owning this, senator.

We must also know the name of the staffer who was let go, so we can understand what that person’s role was in the campaign and whether or not their dismissal was a genuine accountability move or a scapegoating.

It’s hard to imagine this ad was organized and approved by just one member of Heitkamp’s staff. Did some intern or volunteer take a figurative bullet for a higher-profile member of the campaign? Again, we don’t know.

Heitkamp also had to find a way to use the hour-long debate to recoup her losses from earlier this week, when news broke that her campaign had identified a number of constituents as victims of sexual assault without their consent. The names of these women were included as signatories of an open letter to Cramer, which the Heitkamp campaign ran as an advertisement.

“The ad is about non-consent. Why would they just go ahead and take our names without our consent? It’s the same thing, just different case,” one of the women told National Review this week.

Given how much negative coverage her campaign has received for the misstep, using her opening statement to apologize was the right tactical move — not to mention the right thing to do. But it undoubtedly was not how the flailing Democratic incumbent — running for reelection in a state that the sitting Republican president won by nearly 36 points — had hoped to start out the last debate of the election cycle against a popular, at-large congressman.

The Heitkamp campaign is under fire again, this time for an advertisement apologizing to the women named in the previous ad. According to reports, the ad may have lacked the legally required disclaimer about having been paid for by a political-action committee. The newspaper that ran the ad says it received the payment from the Heitkamp campaign committee — which means the ad appears to be in violation of FEC guidelines. Heitkamp’s campaign has not responded to press inquiries on the subject.

North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins issued this statement the following another successful debate performance from Kelly Armstrong:

“For someone North Dakota will never send there, Mac Schneider sure seems to have perfected the art of Washington Double Speak. No matter what spin he offers, Mac can’t escape his liberal record and status as a maxed out donor for Hillary Clinton, a failed presidential candidate who wanted to raise taxes and put the coal industry out of business.

It’s no wonder President Donald J. Trump endorsed Kelly, because both the President and North Dakotans know that Kelly will help get Congress back to work. Kelly’s platform of shrinking government, protecting individual liberty and restoring the strength of the American economy is the platform North Dakotans will support this November.”

REMINDER: President Trump proudly endorsed Kelly Armstrong’s Congressional bid in his North Dakota visit this summer:

As Heidi Heitkamp deals with fierce backlash for outing victims of sexual assault without their consent in a political attack ad, she has promised her victims a personal apology and a retraction.

Is that what this is?

Buried at the bottom of a page in the Minot Daily News– with no indication of who paid for it- appeared this small note from Senator Heitkamp, which only quoted her campaign’s initial statement word for word:

REMINDER: Heitkamp’s first newspaper attack ad that outed these victims covered a full page ad and ran in every major newspaper across the state. Worse yet, Heitkamp still used this opportunity to criticize Kevin Cramer, proving once again that Heitkamp exploits whoever she can, whenever she can, for political gain.

And as for apologizing, Heidi Heitkamp and her campaign returned to politics as usual yesterday, continuing their smear campaign against her opponent. Meanwhile some victims outed by Heitkamp still had not heard from her.

As Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News last night, “Heidi Heitkamp needs to pick up the phone right now and call that young girl and apologize for getting her name in the national headlines.”

North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins issued the following statement on Kevin Cramer’s victory in tonight’s debate:

“Heidi Heitkamp’s out-of-touch, liberal record was on full display tonight, and it reminded voters why they need a Senator who will represent them. As always, Heitkamp desperately tried to mask her anti-North Dakota agenda with lies, misinformation, and manufactured controversy; but that won’t work. This state is ready for a Senator who votes like North Dakota.”

Kevin Cramer penned an op-ed expressing not only his concern for North Dakota’s agricultural community, but also his support for the President’s overall efforts and his work to end this dispute. These are the views shared by North Dakota’s agriculture community. For example:

Headline: “Soybean producer feels President Trump will be able to get a deal done”

Heitkamp votedtwice in support of the individual mandate, voted against repealing Obamacare tax, and voted in favor of the medical device tax after she took donations from the medical supplies industry.

Heitkamp’s health care law is out-of-touch with what’s best for North Dakota, and it hurts our state.

After 6 years of dodging local media and “running scared” from reporters, Heidi Heitkamp will now have to answer for six years of opposing the will of North Dakota voters at tonight’s debate.

With her record on full display, Heitkamp has several questions she needs to answer, such as:

Why did she say she would oppose late-term abortion, but then vote to support it?

Why did she vote for higher taxes for North Dakotans?

Why did she fail to crack down on sanctuary cities and dismiss the issue as a scare tactic?

Why has she voted for higher premiums and fewer health care choices?

Why did she vote to put energy jobs at risk?

Why did she promise to be bipartisan, but then vote with President Obama nearly 90% of the time?

Why does she play politics with the ag community, and continue to prolong trade disputes by undermining the President?

Why did she oppose Justice Kavanaugh when her constituents supported him and the facts did not support her argument?

After wrongly outing abuse survivors in an attempt to score political points, can North Dakota trust her judgement?

“No matter what desperate spin she offers today, Heidi Heitkamp can’t escape her out-of-touch, liberal record,” said North Dakota Republican Party Communications Director Jake Wilkins. “What’s most important is for Heitkamp to answer why she’s consistently opposed what’s best for her constituents.”